


The Trials of Babysitting

by bastiankurts (orphan_account)



Series: Trials of Babysitting 'verse [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-20
Updated: 2013-10-08
Packaged: 2017-12-27 03:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/973886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/bastiankurts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After discussing the possibility of adoption with his husband, Kurt Hummel comes up with an idea. It may be one that not only could end up proving to provide his best friend and step-brother some much needed time alone on their own up and coming anniversary, but also help both himself and Sebastian with their own decision making regarding an important aspect of their future together ...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This idea has been lurking at the back of my mind for a few months now, but for one reason or another I've had difficultly finally getting it written and published.
> 
> At first I was going to combine it as one complete chapter, but after reviewing after what has been written so far I've since discovered that chopping it up and uploading bit by bit may infact be slightly easier. I predict this story will have two parts, maybe three if wordcount gets ridiculous but I really don't see that happening. For the time being, this is the first part. I am still working on the next one, so hopefully it'll be posted soon depending on how development and writing goes with that. 
> 
> So that people are aware, Finn _will_ be making a short appearance a little later on. I don't see this as much as a problem, but I thought it would be worth mentioning. This story is very much a happy and hopefully uplifting one, and honestly Cory's death is part of what pushed me to include his character in it as I thought it would a nice little thought to the character.

"I'm pretty sure that I have thought of one of my finest ideas yet."

After hearing the sound of the front door shutting closed, followed by his husbands call in between the shuffling that could be heard also, Sebastian looked up from the book that he had previously been reading. His brow was knitted tightly, drawn into a frown as he turned to look at the open doorway of the living room leading out into the hallway, knowing by the sound of how Kurt’s keys met the fruit bowl from out there that he would appear standing in the doorway at any given moment.

"Kurt ... ?" Sebastian asked, confusion colouring his tone.

As if on cue, Kurt finally entered the living room. His appearance seemed slightly less put together than was usual for him, Sebastian noting the slightly messier style to Kurt's hair that could only have been the result of either the weather or by Kurt himself running his fingers through it continuously. Still, he silently watched as Kurt discarded his work folder off to one side, leaving it forgotten there as he walked further into the room and around where their sofa sat in the middle of the room, hands moving down to the buttons on the coat he was still wearing and working them free.

"Do you remember what we were talking about the other day?" Kurt continued, his words coming out slightly rushed in the way they always did when Kurt was excited about something.

"Be more specific," Sebastian replied, his voice sounding slightly guarded as he waited to see where the current conversation between them both was headed. "We happen to talk about a lot of things with each other."

"The other evening," Kurt said, finally shrugging his coat off and placing it over the top of a nearby chair. "When we spoke about the idea of adoption."

Suddenly Kurt had Sebastian's full attention, and he moved to sit up slightly from the position he had claimed for himself earlier on their sofa. The book that he had been reading from before was discarded and placed on the arm of the sofa, another item that was forgotten between them both as Sebastian’s understanding about what they were talking about grew slightly, and his eyes travelled to follow Kurt as he moved to sit down at the empty space beside him.

"I remember," Sebastian answered, continuing to keep his voice wary as he shared a look in Kurt’s direction. "I also remember that we agreed that we wouldn't rush into any rash or big decisions too soon."

That _had_ been the plan at least. It had only been about a week since they had managed to breach the topic in the first place, and although the both of them had agreed that it was something that they definitely wanted to look into, they had also decided that they would take the time that they both needed for what was considered as such a big decision between the two of them. It was something huge, something that was going to impact all lives of those that were involved -- and not just Kurt and Sebastian’s alone -- and so they had agreed that they would not jump into anything too soon. They had also decided to make sure that they definitely talked to each other about any thoughts or concerns that they had, and that they weren’t to make any decisions by themselves without gathering the other’s opinion first.

Now that Kurt had brought the subject back up again however, Sebastian couldn't help but wonder -- and worry slightly -- about what his decision possibly could be. He knew Kurt could be impatient when he wanted to be, but Sebastian had been certain that Kurt had been on the same page as he was when it came to waiting for a little while.

"We did, and we're not," Kurt answered calmly, glancing at where Sebastian sat beside him before continuing. "I think you might agree that my idea is rather ingenious, actually."

"Oh yeah?" Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow at Kurt’s confidence. "Well, share this _ingenious idea_ of yours with me then."

"If you're going to mock me before you even know what it is --" Kurt began, sensing the sarcastic tone that was laced in Sebastian's words, making his earlier excitement fall ever so slightly, "-- then perhaps I won't bother telling you."

"Hey, no," Sebastian said, noticing how Kurt’s expression had fallen ever so slightly. He reached out a hand to lay on Kurt's arm, squeezing in reassurance to silently tell Kurt that he wasn’t trying purposely to mock or be cruel. The action seemed to do the trick as Kurt immediately seemed to deflate, and Sebastian felt the way that the tension that had quickly built up in Kurt’s body relaxed slightly from beneath his hold. "I'm sorry. You know how I am about this topic sometimes. It's new and scary, but I'm trying."

“I know,” Kurt replied. From where they were rested in his lap Kurt moved one of his own hands to rest on top of Sebastian’s, slowly pulling it away from where Sebastian’s grip had been on his arm previously, until eventually Kurt could lace their fingers together. He squeezed Sebastian’s hand tightly, giving Sebastian a smile and receiving one in return. “Which is why I think you might actually like and benefit from my idea.”

“Benefit from it?” Sebastian asked, confused. Kurt gave a small little nod in reply, watching as their joint hands fell slowly to rest on his knee. He continued to play with Sebastian’s fingers, observing them and the way that they seemed to fit, as always, so seamlessly intertwined with his.

“I was thinking about some of the things that we talked about,” Came his response. “And thinking about the reasons why we decided that we wanted to wait. It makes sense, I mean, there’s still a lot that we’d have to look into, and just getting us onto an adoption program would be difficult enough --” Kurt gave a small pause, stilling for a second before shaking his head, letting whatever it was that he had previously been thinking about disappear from his mind. “But, I think I have the perfect solution to one of the things that was worrying us both.”

“You do?”

Sebastian couldn’t help but be intrigued by what it was that Kurt was talking about. They had gone through and discussed many different ideas when the conversation had come up, and he was already searching through his memories of the event to try and pinpoint the ones that Kurt could be referring to. There were a few that sprung to mind, but none that Sebastian could pinpoint for definite. Kurt on the otherhand was nodding again, turning his eyes away from where their hands were clasped together to look at Sebastian.

“I was thinking that, maybe we could try babysitting.”

At first, Sebastian didn’t know how to respond, or what to say. His eyes had grown wide, just as they had the time that the subject of future children had been brought up before. Looking back at Kurt who was staring expectantly at him, his own eyes shining with nothing but patience and understanding. It was enough to calm him from the surprise of Kurt’s words, and Sebastian soon felt the way that his own lips curved up into a small grin, the way an eyebrow ever so slowly rose.

“Babysitting? Us?” He asked.

“I have it all planned out,” Kurt continued. Sebastian watched as Kurt's posture changed so that he was sitting up a little straighter, noticing that he had unlaced their hands so that he could move them about animatedly in front of himself as he spoke. “Finn and Rachel have their four year wedding anniversary coming up in a few weeks, and I know for a fact that Eliza and Connor have been taking up so much of their time lately that they haven’t really had a chance to spend time together outside of working and seeing to the children. I’m sure that if we asked them, they wouldn’t mind letting their two favourite uncles look after them for an evening.”

“Kurt, we’re their _only_ uncles,” Sebastian pointed out. He quickly shook his head however, suddenly really realising what it was that Kurt was proposing. “And - what? Kurt. We don’t know if we’re any good at looking after one kid, let alone _twins_.”

“But that’s the point,” Kurt emphasised. “Think about it. We’re both worried that we’ll be useless when it comes to looking after children, that we won’t know what to do if we decide to adopt one of our own, and the only way that we’ll be able to get over that fear and uncertainty is by exposing ourselves to it. Plus, it’s not like we’ll just be left with _babies_ , Bas. Eliza and Connor are almost three now, and Rachel says that they’re speech has improved even more since the last time we saw them.”

“But what happens if we do decide to babysit them, and we discover then that we  _don’t_ know what we’re doing?” Sebastian asked. Kurt seemed unfazed by the question however, instead replying quickly with what Sebastian assumed -- and wouldn’t be surprised -- was an answer that Kurt had been rehearsing, knowing that Sebastian was likely to ask it.

“That’s why it’s called babysitting. If we really end up discovering that things are too much for us -- which I doubt, by the way, but by the off chance that we do -- we’ll have Finn and Rachel’s mobile numbers on hand to call them. We can always just ask them for advice on what they usually do should anything really important crop up.”

The idea had been something that Kurt had been thinking about for most of the afternoon whilst busy at work, and the more that he thought about it, the more it seemed to make perfect sense. They wouldn’t really be alone if the plan went ahead, as Kurt knew that Rachel would be likely to be keeping tabs on how things were going anyway throughout the evening for her own peace of mind. Kurt was aware of that, and Sebastian knew all too well that when his husband had an idea he was set on, such as the one that was presented before them now, Kurt tended to think about everything that was involved, evaluating each part and determining if it was worth trying out or not. The fact that Kurt had brought it up and that they were now discussing it, well. That just showed that his idea had passed Kurt’s own judgement, and that he was determined to try and persuade Sebastian of what merits it held.

And he was persuading him. Slowly. Sebastian still remained hesitant over the decision as a whole, but he could not deny Kurt’s logic. So far, his words were making sense, and Sebastian had to agree that it would probably prove to be good for them both to get some sort of experience of looking after children before they eventually decided to move onto the larger, more life-changing steps. He had thought about that briefly himself, actually, but Sebastian’s ideas hadn’t gone much further than the possibility of adopting some sort of pet between them both first and seeing how they got along with that.

“Clearly, you’ve put a lot of thought into this idea of yours,” Sebastian replied. He noticed the way that Kurt’s eyes seemed to light up slightly, as if he saw that Sebastian was beginning to agree with what he was suggesting. “However, you’re missing one very important thing.”

“What’s that?” Kurt asked.

“You don’t even know if Finn and Rachel would even want us to babysit for them.”

“I know enough to know that it won’t be difficult to put the suggestion out there for them,” Kurt replied, giving a small little shrug as he did so. “Finn’s been complaining for weeks that it’s been awhile since him and Rachel had a chance to go out for a proper date night together. What’s not a better time for them to do that than on their anniversary? If they don’t want to take the offer up, then that’s their decision, and it’s completely fine. But somehow, I can imagine them agreeing very easily. So on the chance that they _do_ agree, what do _you_ think about this?”

Sebastian took a moment after Kurt had spoken to think about his words, watching Kurt as he did so. He knew that it was probably a good step for them to take, especially if they wanted a child of their own one day. But there was still something deep inside of him that was terrified of screwing up looking after a child -- especially one that wasn't even his. And Kurt wasn’t asking to look after just the one child, he was asking if Sebastian would be onboard with them babysitting twins for an evening. _Two children_. Twice the amount of fear and responsibility. How was he supposed to look after two children if he wasn’t even sure he could look after one?

It wasn’t that Sebastian didn’t want children for himself one day, because he did. He honestly, really did. It was just that he was so scared of the unknown, so paranoid and fearful of the things that he had no control over. He always had been. Sebastian had spent his youth growing up as an only child, with no younger brothers or sisters to surround him. The majority of his aunts and uncles lived and spent the majority of their time in France where they looked after their own children, while he spent his days living in America with both of his parents. To Sebastian, children were somewhat of an enigma, something he didn't know that much about. At least they were to him at the moment with his little to no experience surrounding them.

But Kurt’s expression. The hope and the patience that was staring right back at him, just waiting for Sebastian's response. He _knew_ how important this was for Kurt, for them _both_. Kurt had always wanted children, and Sebastian knew that despite his own worries, Kurt would prove to make a fantastic father one day. He was already a fantastic husband after all. And chances were that if Sebastian  _did_  manage to mess up somehow, Kurt would be there to help make things right again, just like he always had been in the past.

Eventually, Sebastian found that coming to his decision was easy, even if it was still a little anxiety provoking to think about. He took in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before eventually sighing it back out, his eyes closing as he did so.

“Make sure Rachel and Finn are one hundred percent behind this,” He began, hearing Kurt let out a little sound of excitement as he spoke. Sebastian tried to fight the smile that was threatening to break out across his face, opening his eyes once again to look at Kurt and give him what he hoped was a stern expression instead. “And I mean one hundred percent, Kurt. No blackmailing, no coercing or forcing them into an agreement. If they say no, then they say no.”

“I’ll ask in the nicest way I know how,” Kurt replied, moving forward to wrap his arms around Sebastian's middle and embrace him tightly. Sebastian let out a small ‘oof’ sound, but soon moved to wrap his arms around Kurt’s waist loosely in return. “I’m meeting Rachel for lunch on Thursday anyway, so I can bring it up to her then. Unless you’d rather be there too? In that case I can invite her over and we can ask her together --”

“Kurt. Just. Ask on the lunch date,” Sebastian cut in, letting out a small laugh at Kurt’s rush of words as he tried to plan around his excitement. Kurt moved then so that his face was hovering over Sebastian’s slightly, breaking out into a large grin before leaning down and pressing light, quick kisses against Sebastian’s face, kissing anywhere but his lips.

“I promise, if both Rachel and Finn agree, you won’t regret saying yes,” Kurt said, his voice slightly muffled as he continued to keep kissing. “It’ll be amazing, and fun. You’ll see.” Pausing, Kurt moved away slightly, looking down at Sebastian and smiling still. “After all, _Eliza and Connor **love** their favourite uncle Sebastian._ ”

“You’re ridiculous,” Sebastian replied, letting out a laugh at the sing-songy voice that Kurt had used.

Instead of saying anything further Sebastian arched forward, catching his lips with Kurt’s finally just as Kurt began to giggle and brushing them against his again to keep him from replying. With his hand, Sebastian carefully moved it from Kurt’s waist to his back, gently pushing him so that Kurt moved slightly closer towards him, the two of them continuing to kiss as he did so. Sebastian knew that the conversation between the two of them was far from finished, and that later on they would probably talk more about what it was that Kurt would be asking Rachel when he met up with her later in the week.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After discussing the possibility of adoption with his husband, Kurt Hummel comes up with an idea. It may be one that not only could end up proving to provide his best friend and step-brother some much needed time alone on their own up and coming anniversary, but also help both himself and Sebastian with their own decision making regarding an important aspect of their future together ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second part, just a little Hummelberry scene between friends. 
> 
> There will be one more part after this, and that'll have more Kurt & Sebastian together. But this scene is needed. I've quickly read over it, but this chapter's been giving be trouble, so it's probably not perfect.

Thursday arrived quickly after that, and it wasn’t long until Kurt eventually found himself sitting across from Rachel outside of the small little coffee shop that they usually frequented when meeting one another for lunch.

Their weekly lunch dates were always something that Kurt loved, as it provided the both of them with the opportunity to break away from their hectic work lives for a little while in favour of spending some much needed time together. Kurt was always happy for the chance to catch up and gossip with Rachel, especially since over the past few weeks she had recently begun working on her new show, _‘Love Etcetera’_. Just like always, Rachel spent the majority of their meeting absorbed in updating Kurt on the latest news that she had kept ready to share with him, and just like always, Kurt was more than eager to listen to what it was that she had to say.

But as well as that, Kurt couldn’t help but the way that he would keep thinking back to thought that he wanted to bring up at some point also. His mind kept going back it every so often, as if giving him that slight little push, that extra little reminder of what it was that he had to ask Rachel that afternoon.

At some point Rachel seemed to pick up on his thoughtfulness, as she eventually drew the conversation away from how her week had been in favour of asking Kurt how he had been lately. It was the way that her head slightly tilted to one side when she asked the question, mixed with the calculating look on her face that Kurt understood that she was trying in her own way to figure out for herself what it was that he was thinking about. Having known each other for years, the two of them had grown to notice and pick up on each other’s little habits, reading each other almost as if in a silent unspoken language. Well, some of the time at least.

“I’ve been good. Busy as always what with work and everything else going one -- which I’m sure you can understand -- but otherwise I’ve been doing perfectly well,” Kurt spoke in reply to Rachel’s question, before pausing to take a long sip of his coffee. His brow furrowed ever so slightly while he did though, and after a moment Kurt brought the cup away from his lips once more, setting it down on the table beside the empty plate where his earlier lunch had once sat.

“There was something that I wanted to ask you, however.”

Kurt darted his eyes away from the paper coffee cup that he was fiddling with up to watch Rachel, just quick enough to notice the slight flash of intrigue that appeared in across her own face at his words. She moved gracefully, her head moving slightly from it’s earlier tilted position back to it’s regular position, her posture morphing slightly as it matched her curiosity.

“I think you should know by now that you can ask me anything, Kurt,” Rachel replied, a teasing tone laced into her words. Kurt couldn’t help but let out a small little huff of laughter at her words, breaking his gaze so that he could shake his head slightly for a moment.

“It’s more just me being curious, honestly.” He said, giving a small little shrug before looking at Rachel once again and giving her a smile. “I was just wondering if you and Finn had anything planned for your anniversary yet. It’s pretty soon now, isn’t it?”

At his words Rachel’s own smile seemed to fall, and her attention turned to the table between them. Her shoulders slumped downwards ever so slightly, and Kurt watched as Rachel began to trace a circular pattern on the table top with one of her gloved fingers.

“It is. And I wish we had plans,” She answered, letting out a small sigh. “Our schedules keep clashing at the moment as it is, and with looking after the kids too … well. I don’t really think that we’ll be able to make much time for ourselves to do much for celebration, let alone try and really plan anything.”

Kurt’s eyes softened at her words, understanding why it was that she sounded so disappointed. Clashing work schedules was difficult enough to work with and plan around, although it was doable. Yet adding two young children into the equation meant that it was even moreso. As ideal as it might be to find the time to plan and do things that didn’t revolve around either problem that prevented them from celebration, Kurt knew that both his stepbrother and Rachel herself liked to make sure that they remained responsible in their decision making.

“What if you managed to get yourselves a babysitter for an evening? Perhaps if you can find a night where you’d both be free from work. Could that help give you the opportunity to do something together?” Kurt asked. Rachel let out a small laugh in response, before replying.

“Maybe. But its not like Finn and I are the only ones that are busy out of everyone we know. And you know how uncomfortable I feel about leaving the children with someone that we _don’t_ know, so that suggestion is just – it’s out of the question, really.”

“Well, what if Sebastian and I were to offer to babysit for you for the evening instead?”

Rachel seemed to freeze for a moment at Kurt’s suggestion, before eventually giving him a look that could only be described as confusion. She raised an eyebrow, watching him silently for a moment as if waiting for Kurt to say something more. Eventually realising that Kurt _wasn’t_ going to say anything more until she replied Rachel narrowed her eyes slightly, continuing to watch him as she finally spoke.

“You and … Sebastian?”

Kurt gave another little shrug of a shoulder, suddenly unable to stop the slight feeling of discomfort that was growing under Rachel’s continued stare, and deciding to dart his own attention back down to his coffee cup instead.

“We’d do it, if you wanted. We could even consider it as part of your anniversary gift if you wanted.”

“Kurt what --” Rachel began, pausing when Kurt looked back at her again and giving him another confused look. “I mean, the offers great but -- you two have never offered to babysit for us before. You’ve never even seemed all that _comfortable_ with the idea, which is why I gave up asking you guys in the end.”

“That’s just an assumption. I’ve never said that I was _un_ comfortable with it. Neither has Sebastian.”

There was a pause, in which Rachel continued to watch Kurt. It was as if she was waiting for something to fit into place, as if the missing puzzle piece to the answer she was searching for would suddenly unveil the more that she assessed him.

“Is there some other ulterior motive to this proposal of yours?” She eventually asked.

“Ulterior motive? What makes you think there would be an ulterior motive?”

“Kurt,” Rachel answered warningly. Another pause broke out between them for a second, until Rachel finally shook her head. “We’ve known each other for years, Kurt. Do you really think I don’t know when something’s up by now?”

Biting his lip slightly at Rachel’s words, Kurt couldn’t help but cast his eyes around him for a moment before looking before at the woman sitting across from him once more. Noting the way that her eyebrows had risen, her expression obvious in telling that she was silently (and somewhat impatiently) waiting for him to answer her, Kurt decided to let out a small sigh and give in.

“Fine. But if I tell you, you have to _promise_ not to run off and tell too many people what I have to say right now. Okay?” Kurt asked, watching Rachel intently for her reaction.

“So there is _something_. I knew it!” Rachel said triumphantly. She shifted slightly so that she was sitting up properly once more as she gave a small little nod, intrigued by what it was that Kurt was keeping from her. “I promise, you can trust me. Now just tell me!”

“Right.” Kurt paused again, continuing to watch Rachel for a little longer as he took a moment to gather his own thoughts, wondering if it really was best to share the news he had when it was still so newly fresh and delicate. The conflict between in his mind quickly ended, with Kurt deciding that it was pointless not to say anything now that he had Rachel more or less waiting on his every word for what it was he had now said he would reveal to her. Instead he moved forward slightly from where he was sitting at the table, Rachel eagerly following suit across from him so that they met closer someway in the middle.

“Sebastian and I are…” He began. His words came out quietly, as if he was sharing some large secret that he didn’t want anyone around them to hear, even if really, they didn’t know those people. “We’re thinking of the possibility of well -- adopting.”

As soon as he the last word had left his lips there was the sound of a squeal of excitement, and Kurt jumped slightly before sitting back in his chair, watching Rachel across from him and how she had jumped in her seat slightly before clasping her hands over her mouth. A few of the other people that were sitting around them had turned to look at them, trying and figure out what the sound was and where it had come from, a mixture of a few confused looks and frowns aimed in their direction. Both Rachel and Kurt turned to look around them briefly before turning back to face each other, focusing back on their own conversation as the people around them turned their attention away, instead settling back into whatever it was that they had been doing beforehand.

“Oh my _god_ ,” Rachel said finally, the volume of her voice slightly hushed then so as not to disturb the others sitting around them again, yet still managing to hold all the excitement that she was so obviously feeling. “Kurt that’s _amazing_ news! Why didn’t you say anything to me sooner?!” She reached across the table, giving Kurt a playful swat on the arm.

“Because it’s only a recent development,” Kurt replied, reaching to rub at where Rachel had just hit him, smiling at the sight of her excitement as he did so. “There’s still a lot of things to factor in, and both Sebastian and I have only really started to talk and think about it all more seriously together over the past few weeks. We want to be sure that we’re a hundred percent ready before we go ahead with anything more permanent … but it’s still very much on the table. So, I call that progress.”

“I can’t believe this,” said Rachel, giving a small shake of her head. Her smile remained on her face, bright and happy, and Kurt couldn’t help but find that her own joy over the news he had to share was contagious, and only adding to his own. “This is -- it’s such fantastic news, Kurt. Just the fact that you’re both _talking_ about it together; it’s the potential first step to bigger things! But – wait;”

Rachel paused for a second, her brow creasing lightly. She tilted her head slightly to one side again as she continued to watch Kurt once more, yet from where he was sitting Kurt couldn’t help but notice that her smile was growing into more of a little grin. “This is why you really want to babysit Eliza and Connor, isn’t it? It’s kind of like a test run for the both of you, and _not_ just because you want to be generous to me and Finn.”

Kurt bowed his head in reply, his smile growing larger for a moment at how easily Rachel had managed to catch him out.

“Well I really _was_ offering for the generosity side of things for the two of you,” He answered, glancing up at Rachel to show that he wasn’t lying before looking back down at the pattern of the table top again. “But … I won’t deny that the suggestion would also act as a benefit to Sebastian and I too.”

Kurt moved to look up at Rachel properly again then, his earlier smile having faded into a smaller, slightly more serious one before he continued to speak.

“When we sat down to discuss the whole adoption thing properly, both Sebastian and myself realised that although it was something we both are sure we want someday, neither of us really know how to be anyone’s father at the moment. Or if we’d even be any good at it to begin with.” Kurt’s expression turned from serious to sad, yet he carried on speaking. “Sebastian’s an only child, and you know that Finn only became my step-brother when I was fifteen. Neither of us has ever really been left alone to look after a child before. At least not as a where it’s just the two of us taking up that responsibility with no one else in the house to help us should we need it.

“That’s when the idea of babysitting came to mind. At first, I was just trying to think of different ideas of things we could do to help – and that’s when the one about offering to babysit for you and Finn for an evening came to me. That way, you and Finn could have the chance to actually celebrate your anniversary and have a lovely evening out together, whilst Sebastian and I looked after Eliza and Connor for you and we could see how the two of us worked with children. And if you needed to contact us for whatever reason you could, and Sebastian and I would be able to get in contact with you too if we needed you for any reason.”

By the time Kurt had finished speaking, he looked away from Rachel’s watchful gaze on him. For a moment it was quiet between the two of them once more, with only the sounds of the busy outdoor atmosphere and chatter surrounding them. The silence between them was broken however when Kurt eventually felt something lightly touch his hand that was resting on the table, and when he turned his attention to it he saw that Rachel had reached over and placed one of her own gloved hands on top of it.

“Kurt,” She began, causing Kurt’s attention to move from her hand back to her once more. Her face was warm, and still continuing to look back at him. “Nobody really knows if they’ll be good parents in the beginning, no matter how much _experience_ they may or may not have with children. It’s always just … different when it’s your own child. I’m not sure why, but it feels different.”

Rachel paused, giving Kurt’s hand a reassuringly squeeze at the same time as her smile grew soft. “Look at Finn for example. He works around children everyday, teaching them music and making them smile and laugh. But in the first week after I came back from the hospital after having the twins, he was just as much a confused new father as anyone in that position is. Don’t tell him I told you this, but there was more than one time where I had to remind him how to change a diaper.”

Kurt couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at that, very easily remembering how hectic the first week of being new parents had been for both Finn and Rachel. Both he and Sebastian had spent most of that time helping the both of them whilst saying hello to their new nephew and niece, making sure that both the parents knew that if they needed any help or supplies brought for them, all they had to do was ask.

_“Saying that,”_ Rachel continued, giving Kurt’s hand another quick squeeze, moving her other hand to clasp it also, both of them then wrapping around Kurt’s reassuringly. “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that one day, if the both of you _do_ decide to adopt, that both you and Sebastian will be the most wonderful fathers. Your children will be very lucky, but most importantly they’ll be loved.”

At Rachel’s words Kurt found himself smiling brightly, touched by what it was that she had to say and the sincerity of which she had spoken. “You really think so?” He asked her.

“I _know_ so,” Rachel replied almost adamantly. “Kurt, both you and Sebastian spoil Eliza and Connor without really realising that you do. I’ve always not so secretly thought that the two of would be great one day if you ever had a child of your own.” She paused for a second, a thoughtful look appearing on her face before she continued speaking. “And well, now that you’ve brought the suggestion up, I have to admit that Finn and I really _would_ appreciate the opportunity to eat somewhere on our anniversary without having to first make sure that there’s a children’s menu at hand for a change.”

“Does that mean that you’re saying you’d like us to babysit for you?” Kurt asked, his smile widening slightly at both the opportunity that seemed to be opening up before him as well as from what he had just heard Rachel say. Rachel’s own smile grew, and as she finally let go of Kurt’s hand from where both of hers were still wrapped around it, she instead reached for her own coffee cup and brought it to her lips.

“Let me bring it up to Finn, and then we can plan the date and times together,” Rachel replied, grinning before finally taking a sip.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After discussing the possibility of adoption with his husband, Kurt Hummel comes up with an idea. It may be one that not only could end up proving to provide his best friend and step-brother some much needed time alone on their own up and coming anniversary, but also help both himself and Sebastian with their own decision making regarding an important aspect of their future together ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final part, this is also the longest chapter out of the lot. 
> 
> This chapter includes Sebastian & Kurt, and a little bit of Finn & Rachel. And of course, Rachel and Finn's children. This story was supposed to start as a small little drabble to begin with, but now? Well, it's evolved into this much longer mini-story.

“ -- Everything you need should be in this bag. Toys, wipes, anything. It saves you both having to hunt around the house to find them later on. I’ve even left their favourite book there too, since they absolutely won't sleep unless you read them a bedtime story beforehand."

" I found that one out the hard way," Finn mumbled to Sebastian whilst hitching one of the children – Connor – further up from where he was sitting against his hip. Sebastian simply glanced at Finn, raising a questioning eyebrow, but choosing not to say anything. He was nervous enough as it was, and he certainly didn't need Finn telling him about any past horror stories of his own right before him and Rachel were about to leave Kurt and himself alone with their children for an entire evening.

" -- The twins pyjamas are already laid out on their beds for when they have to go to bed. If you need anything, just call. You have our numbers." Rachel continued, still giving Kurt (and Sebastian, although he wasn't really as attentive as he probably should have been) her list of what appeared to be well-rehearsed instructions. "Their bedtime is usually at seven, so don't try to keep them up too much longer after that. They get cranky in the morning otherwise. I don’t think there was anything else I had to tell you, was there Finn?”  
  
“I think you’ve gone over everything, Rach,” Kurt interrupted before Finn could form a response. The reality was that he, like Sebastian, was feeling just a little bit overwhelmed after listening to her extensive list. Unlike Sebastian however Kurt was sure that Rachel was just being over cautious in making sure that the both of them knew what they had to do, more for her own peace of mind than anything else. “If anything crops up we can always call you, alright?”  
  
“Mommy, are you and Daddy going somewhere?”  
  
Rachel’s lips had started to form around the words that she was about to say, before once again being interrupted before she could speak. At the sound of the small child’s voice that had spoken Rachel instead looked down, noticing her daughter looking up at her with wide eyes. Smiling, Rachel moved to kneel down in front of her, careful not to rip the dress that she was wearing for the evening.  
  
“That’s right sweetie,” She replied, her voice sweet as she spoke to the girl. “Daddy and I are going out to have a very special meal together, so Uncle Kurt and Uncle Sebastian are going to look after both you and your brother tonight. You make sure to be extra good for them, won’t you?”  
  
“Okay!” Eliza said, her already wide eyes growing in size ever so slightly. For a moment her attention turned to look up at where Kurt was standing behind Rachel, and he gave her a small little wave and a smile, before she turned to look back at her mother again.  
  
“Good girl. Now come here so I can give you a big hug before we go.”  
  
Rachel opened her arms in invitation, and Eliza quickly walked forward the small distance so that she could get her hug. Her small arms reached around Rachel, and Rachel wrapped her own carefully around the girl, giving a small little squeeze for a moment whilst she held her.  
  
“What about you little man?” Came Finn’s voice, and both Kurt and Sebastian turned to look at where he had turned to face his son, who was still sitting on his father’s hip. “You think you can behave for these two?”  
  
Connor wasn’t as quick to convince as Eliza had been, and after hearing Finn’s words he turned to look at both of his Uncles with an expression that could only be described as calculating written upon his face.  
  
“Can I play with my train?”  
  
“Only if you’re good and stay in your bed when you’re told it’s bedtime.” Finn replied. Connor’s attention was drawn to where Sebastian was standing next to him and Finn then, and he continued to watch him for a moment before eventually giving a small nod.  
  
“’Kay.”  
  
“Good,” Finn said, the beginnings of a small, successful smile appearing on his face. Carefully, Finn moved his arm up so that he could read the time on his watch, before passing Connor over to Sebastian – who in return wore a shocked look on his face as he held the small child cautiously -- and speaking once again. “We should get going if we want to make those reservations on time, Rach.”  
  
Letting go of Eliza, Rachel quickly leant forward to press a small kiss against the daughter’s cheek before carefully moving to stand upright again. “Be good okay?” She said once more to the girl, before walking over to where Sebastian and Connor were so that she could press a kiss on the little boys cheek too. “We’ll be here when you wake up in the morning.”  
  
Finn waited to one side after saying his own goodbyes to the children, waiting for Rachel to be done. After she had spoken to Connor she smiled at both Sebastian and Kurt, continuing to speak as she walked slowly over to where Finn was waiting.  
  
“Remember, if you two need _anything:_ call us.” She said, sending Kurt a look that had him letting out a laugh.  
  
“We’ll be fine, go and enjoy your anniversary,” He answered, raising his hand to wave at them. Rachel continued to watch him for a moment while Finn wrapped an arm around her waist, until eventually Rachel decided that she was satisfied. As both her and Finn made their way to leave Finn cast a quick smile back at the two men, waving at both Sebastian and Kurt and their children.  
  
“See you later bro. Sebastian,” He said, before guiding Rachel out into their hallway.  
  
Kurt and Sebastian waited until they heard the sound of the door clicking closed to be sure that the two had left, before they both let out a breath that they didn’t know they had been holding in. Sebastian slowly and carefully moved to let Connor down onto the floor, the unease on his face disappearing once he was sure that the child was safe from harm as he watched him run over to where his sister was. Eliza on the other hand was staring at the doorway of where her parents had just left, her head tilted to one side in a curious manner, almost as if she was waiting for Rachel and Finn to appear in the doorway once more.  
  
After watching them for a few moments himself Kurt turned to look up at Sebastian, noticing that he was staring right back at him. After a second Sebastian broke eye contact, giving a small little shrug as he reached up with one hand to scratch at the back of his neck.  
  
“So …” He began, drawing the word out for a long moment. Sebastian noticed that Kurt had raised an eyebrow at him as he had started to speak, anticipating what it was that he had to say, and he let his hand drop back to his side once more before continuing. “Do you have any idea what it is we’re supposed to actually do now?”  
  
Kurt turned to glance back at the children for a moment, noticing Connor poking at his sister’s shoulder as she continued to stare at the spot ahead of her unmoved. He had a somewhat slight idea about what was to come from one of the two children, yet he honestly hoped that he was wrong with the thought. Instead, he crossed his arms across his chest, sensing as Sebastian had moved slightly so that he was standing closer to his side before shaking his head.  
  
“Not a clue.”  
  
And just as the words had left his lips, the thing that he had dreaded happened. Eliza had decided to plonk herself down into a sitting position upon the floor, opened her mouth, and started to cry.  
  
 _Loudly._

“Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me.” Kurt heard Sebastian sigh out from beside him.

* * *

“It’s okay sweetie. Mommy and Daddy will be coming back. There’s no need to be sad.”

Since Eliza had started crying, Kurt had decided to pick her up off the floor and carry her so that she was sitting on the sofa beside him. As soon as he had delicately placed her in his arms in the way that he had seen both his step-brother and Rachel do on many occasions, he had tried bouncing her up and down slightly to cheer the girl up. And when they had sat down together, Kurt pulled the little girl to sit close by his side, wrapping an arm around her small shoulders and hushing words of comfort to her. At first, he hadn’t known how effective his methods would be, but Kurt had noticed that Eliza’s crying was beginning to calm slowly.

Sebastian on the other hand had simply watched as Kurt moved into action, slightly amazed at the natural way he seemed to know what to do. It reminded him of why he was glad that they had decided to try this entire babysitting thing out together, because if he had been by himself with the two children when Eliza had started crying, Sebastian was certain he probably would have found himself panicking over what to do.

As Kurt saw to the little girl Connor himself had moved also. Leaving the spot where he had previously stood next to his sister as she stared at where her parents had left before, Connor turned around and made his way to where the train he had talked to his father about earlier sat on the floor. As he passed by Sebastian the man turned his attention away from Kurt and Eliza to the little boy, watching him as he sat on the floor and reached for the toy.

Sebastian gave another quick glance in Kurt’s direction to see how Kurt was doing before deciding to move to follow Connor, eventually sitting down on the floor next to the small child cross legged.

“You don’t seem as bothered that your parents have gone out for the evening,” He eventually said, trying to make some sort of conversation between the two of them. Sebastian noticed that Connor gave a small little shrug in reply to begin with, too focused on pulling apart a piece of his toy train to turn and look at him.

“Eliza always cries,” Connor answered, pulling another piece off of the toy and setting it next to the piece he had previously removed. “She cries when Mommy has to go to work late sometimes. Daddy usually lets us watch a movie then, and Eliza’s happy again.”

“That so?” Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow in interest at the boys words. He reminded himself to file that bit of information away for later, should he and Kurt need it at any point during the evening.

“Yup!” Connor said, eyes still focused on his train. “We got to watch _Lilo and Stitch_ last time. But Daddy said that if we wanted to watch it all, we had to make sure not to tell Mommy that we’d stayed up late.”

Sebastian couldn’t help but grin at that piece of knowledge. Finn _would_ say that -- although he was sure that it was probably because he knew that he’d never hear the end of it if the two children only got to watch half of the movie. After all, him and Rachel had told both Sebastian and Kurt whenever it came around to Christmastime or Birthday’s that both the twins loved Disney, and that they were just known for having a new favourite film or character about every three months after exhausting their last favourite.

“You like _Lilo and Stitch_ then?”

Connor finally turned to look away from his train for a moment to look back at Sebastian, before giving a little nod in reply to his question.

“I like Stitch. He’s my favourite.”

 _At the moment._ Sebastian thought. It was another thing for him to remember however, just incase he ever found himself taking a convenient trip to the Disney Store at Times Square at any point during the near future. There was always a possibility, after all.

Connor turned back to focus on his train then, and Sebastian watched as he continued to pull at the detachable parts on it. As he actually paid attention to it though, Sebastian realised that the whole toy was made out of various blocks of different shapes and colours, it was just that all the pieces had been stacked onto a bigger block that, when put together, resembled that of a train.

“So … what are you doing right now?” Sebastian asked. He realised that he was asking a lot of questions, but honestly, Connor seemed rather chatty himself, which helped to make things easier on Sebastian.

“I’m building,” Connor said, removing another piece from the block train as he did so. “I wanna build a house.”

“That sounds cool,” Sebastian replied, moving to uncross his legs so that he could stretch them out in front of him instead. “You know what’s cooler than one house though?”

“What?” Connor asked, looking at Sebastian again with a look of curiosity written across his face.

“ _Two_ houses,” Sebastian said. He smiled at the little boy, before sitting up a little bit. “You want some help building them?”

Connor’s eyes seemed to brighten at Sebastian’s offer until he was eventually nodding energetically. Sebastian’s own smile grew, thankful for having something to do that didn’t seem too difficult. Playing with Connor was easy, he could build a house out of blocks with a kid.

“Okay,” Came Sebastian’s voice once more. He reached for the few blocks that Connor had previously removed and glanced at them, before lifting one up so Connor could see it. “Well first things first, we’re going to  need more of these kinds blocks…”

* * *

From where he sat on the sofa, Kurt watched as Sebastian began to play with Connor. He couldn’t help but smile at the apparent ease that the other had managed to settle down and interact with his nephew, and it made Kurt’s heart swell at the sight.

He had sensed that Sebastian had been tense and worried about babysitting that evening, which explained why it was he had been quieter than usual earlier before Finn and Rachel had left. It was also the reason why Kurt had moved so quickly to tend to Eliza, knowing that Sebastian probably hadn’t been expecting to deal with a crying child not only five minutes since they were left alone to babysit. Kurt hadn’t either if he was being at all honest, and he was just as lost on how best to calm her down as he expected Sebastian had been. Still, his method of sitting down and trying to calm her on the sofa seemed to have worked, as Eliza had since stopped crying and was instead hugging a soft toy of hers that had been lying under a pillow close to her as she leaned into Kurt’s side, his arm still wrapped around her and rubbing soothing circles into her arm.

“Are you feeling better now sweetie?” Kurt asked, turning his attention away from where the two boys sat on the floor and back to the little girl sitting beside him. He noticed her giving a small nod in response, burying her face deeper into the toy bunny that she was clinging to.

“‘m sorry for crying,” Came a muffled response from behind the fabric of the toy. Kurt gave a small little squeeze where his hand had previously been rubbing circles on the girls arm, before relaxing once more and continuing.

“Don’t be sorry. There’s nothing wrong with crying. Everybody cries every now and again after all,” He replied. Kurt paused for a small second, before letting out a small little huff of laughter as he continued to speak. “I for one happen to cry _a lot_.”

Eliza shifted slightly so that she could tilt her head up and look at her uncle then, eyes wide and disbelieving.

“You _do?_ ” She asked. It was the tone of surprise in her voice that had Kurt giving another small little chuckle of laughter, smiling at her as he replied.

“Sure do.”

“But you’re a grown-up. Grown-up's don’t cry. Ever.”

Kurt’s smile only grew a little bit wider at Eliza’s words. He moved his hand from where it had settled on her arm further up, reaching for one of the pigtails that he expected Rachel had spent the afternoon styling for her. He twirled a few strands of hair around his finger, continuing to smile at Eliza as he did so.

“Grown-ups cry. Sometimes some adults cry less than others, but then some -- like me, for instance -- can cry more. There’s nothing wrong with crying.” He paused, continuing to twirl the hair around his finger for a moment longer before letting his hand fall away. “And you certainly don’t have to say you’re sorry. You miss your parents, you’re allowed to cry. But they’ll be back tomorrow. You won’t even realise that they’ve gone, I promise.”

“Pinky promise?” Eliza asked. She moved so that the hand that wasn’t holding her toy was out, offering her pinky finger to Kurt. The way that she was looking up at him then along with the way she was offering him her finger reminded him so much of the times him and Rachel would make pinky promises, and not for the first time was he shocked at just how alike her Eliza was to her mother.

“Pinky promise.” He replied, reaching forward with his own hand and carefully wrapping his pinky finger with Eliza’s. They gave a small little shake with them, before breaking apart, and Eliza gave a small little giggle that Kurt couldn’t help but smile at. It proved to him that she had cheered up slightly, and that she knew that she didn’t have to worry about crying in front of her Uncles.

Kurt heard laughter from where Connor and Sebastian were playing then, and he turned his head slightly to see that Connor was trying to grab a block that the other man was holding at a slight distance from him. His smile grew at the sight, turning back to Eliza only to see her watching the two of them too.

“You wanna go and play with your brother and Uncle Sebastian for a little bit?” Kurt asked, causing Eliza to turn and look at him once more. “After that we can pop in a movie or something before bedtime. Does that sound good?”

At Kurt’s words Eliza nodded, and Kurt moved slowly to stand up from where he had been sitting on the sofa. Once he was standing, he turned to Eliza and offered her his hand, watching as she scooted to the edge of where she was sitting before reaching out and grabbing it. He helped lift her up off the sofa, pausing for a moment to make sure she had her bunny still before the both of them moved to where Sebastian and Connor were sitting. As soon as they reached them Kurt let go of Eliza’s hand and she moved to sit down next to her brother, just as Sebastian turned his head to look up and smile brightly at Kurt. Kurt could only smile back at him, resting his hand on Sebastian’s shoulder as he did so, sending him a silent message as Sebastian turned back to the twins.

* * *

“Alright, you two. Bed time.” 

As promised after Eliza and Connor had exhausted playing with their toys, Kurt and Sebastian agreed that they would all spend the rest of the time until the twins bedtime by watching a movie together. Both Sebastian and Kurt had decided to let the twins pick what movie they wanted, with Sebastian helping them make their decision whilst Kurt answered Rachel’s incoming phone call to making sure that everything had been going well. He was glad to hear that apparently both Rachel and Finn were having a good evening so far, and after settling Rachel’s worries and reassured her that everything was going smoothly with them and the children, she had gushed to him about how Finn had surprised her with tickets to a Broadway show they were making their way too. Kurt had made sure to remind her to tell him all about it when she could, and after Rachel reminded him yet again that the children were to go to bed no later than their bedtime (causing Kurt to roll his eyes and shake his head fondly at her) the phone call had ended.

By that time, Eliza and Connor had come to the decision of what film they wanted to watch, and when Kurt rose an eyebrow at noticing their choice was _Lilo and Stitch_ , Sebastian shook as head, replying to his husbands silent question by saying ‘don’t ask’. That was all Kurt needed to understand however, realising that the twins must have moved away from what their previous favourite movie had been.

As Kurt moved to turn the DVD off with the remote control, Connor tried to protest that he wasn’t tired. He wasn’t particularly convincing however, considering that he had to pause half way through speaking just to yawn. Sebastian just gave his nephew a look to say that he didn’t believe him, noticing that from where Eliza was sitting next to Connor that her eyes were already heavily drooping.

“You know the rules,” Sebastian said, causing both Connor and Eliza to look at him. “Bedtime is seven, and neither me nor your Uncle Kurt want to make your Mom and Dad angry by not doing as they say. Plus, if you want Uncle Kurt to read you a bedtime story, you have to get ready for bed now." 

“Wait --” Kurt began, realising what it was that Sebastian had just said. He turned to look at Sebastian, his hand still holding the remote control he had previously been holding as he did so, and noticing the grin that his husband was wearing. “ _I’m_ reading them a bedtime story?”

“You _are!?_ ” Connor asked, suddenly excited as he turned his attention away from Sebastian to Kurt instead. “Can you do all the character voices like Daddy does?”

Kurt looked at Connor for a moment before shifting his gaze to Sebastian once more, watching the way that his grin only grew. They hadn’t yet figured out who it was that would be reading to the twins, although by the looks of things it seemed as if Sebastian had already made his own decision.

“I …” Kurt began, blinking for a second before turning to look at the children again. Connor was still waiting for an answer, and Kurt realised that even sleepy Eliza had managed to fix her eyes on Kurt too, anticipating his reply. He knew there was no possible way he could say no, not without disappointing the two of them, so instead he simply decided to give in. 

“Go find your pyjamas and get ready for bed. I’ll read to you once you’re ready." 

Both Connor and Eliza left the sofa then, happily disappearing out of the living room into their bedroom down the hall. Once they were out of sight though Kurt turned to glare at Sebastian, and Sebastian opened up his arms and gave a small shrug in response.

“What?” He asked, acting innocent.

“Don’t _what_ me. You know what,” Kurt said. He threw the remote he was still holding at Sebastian, ignoring how his husband had moved to catch it before it landed on him.

“I have no idea what it is you could be talking about,” Sebastian replied, although the fact that he was struggling not to laugh was enough of a sign to show that he knew exactly what Kurt was thinking. Kurt continued to glare at Sebastian for a moment longer, and Sebastian couldn’t help but eventually give in to his laughter. “Come on Kurt, we both know you’re the better reader for them. I prefer to read to myself, and like Connor said, you can do all those character voices like their Daddy Finn can!”

“Why did I marry you again?” Kurt asked, turning to look away from the other and pretending to ignore him. His feigned annoyance however wasn’t fooling Sebastian, especially since the corners of his lips were beginning to slowly turn upwards as he tried to fight back a smile himself. Sebastian had, of course, noticed, and in response he found himself grinning again. Kurt could see the grin from out of the corner of his eyes, and eventually he let out a sigh, before giving in and smiling himself. 

“Okay okay, but _you_ mister --” he turned to point a finger at Sebastian, causing the other man to raise his hands in a surrender type motion. “ _You_ are going to go help them get ready for bed. And that includes teeth cleaning. Go, go now.”

Lowering his hands, Sebastian moved to get up from where he had previously been slouching on the sofa, moving as if to go and find the twins and help them. He paused when Kurt turned away for a second however, and quickly found the opportunity to walk the few steps over to the back of the sofa, lean down and press a quick kiss against his husbands cheek, causing him to jump slightly in surprise. Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh at that, whilst Kurt turned and pointed towards the living room door.

“Go find your niece and nephew,” Kurt said, letting out a small laugh himself at Sebastian’s playfulness. Sebastian did as he was told, but Kurt continued to watch him, waiting until Sebastian was actually out of the living room for good this time, before getting up himself and moving to where Rachel had organised the bag of things they might need for the evening to find the children's storybook she had left out for them.

* * *

“Connor,” Came Sebastian’s voice. Kurt could sense the edged warning tone to Sebastian’s words, and he paused where he was walking for a minute just to listen.

“If you don’t settle down, you don’t get a story. Now lay down.”

Kurt heard the sound of shuffling from the twin’s bedroom, and he made his way to the room enough so that he could poke his head around the corner.

The sight that he was met with sent a smile to his face instantly.

In her own bed, Eliza had already been tucked in and was curled up under her sheets, the bunny toy that she’d been cuddling all evening by her side in the bed. Not too far away Connor was beginning to settle into his own bed. Sebastian’s words seemed to have worked, as although the smile child seemed to have a bit of a frown upon his face, he was patient enough to allow Sebastian to tuck him in. Kurt couldn’t help the feeling of butterflies he got at the sight of Sebastian acting with so much care towards the two children, and it only made him wonder if this was something that they would have one day in their own future. A family. Children. Where every night they could watch whilst the other tucks them into bed to sleep.

“Uncle Kurt!”

At the sound of Eliza’s sleepy call Sebastian turned to look at the doorway, and Kurt decided then to stop lurking and enter the room. The book he had picked up from the living room was tucked under one arm, and Kurt noticed that in the middle of the two beds was a small little chair. It was unmistakable that Rachel and Finn must have brought it for when either of them would read to the children at night, and as Kurt moved into the room he decided that it was the best place for him to sit.

“Hey,” He said, giving Eliza a smile. He turned to Connor afterwards, noticing the little boy was watching him with interest. “You’re not being naughty are you?”

“No,” Connor answered immediately, shaking his head quickly as he did so. From where Sebastian was standing having finally finished sorting Connor out into bed Kurt noticed his eyebrows shoot up, and Kurt almost had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

“Really? Because I thought I heard Uncle Sebastian talking to you before I came in here.”

“He wouldn’t lay down,” Sebastian said, causing both Connor and Kurt to turn and look at him. “He settled down before you came in though.”

“Hmm,” Kurt hummed, looking at Sebastian for a moment longer before glancing back to Connor. He could see in Connor’s expression that he was anxious, probably worried that Kurt might not read to him, and again Kurt found himself trying to keep a straight face as he continued.

“Well, what do I do with a nephew who won’t do as he’s told first time around? What do you think?” He began, turning to look at Eliza again before continuing. “Do we let Connor into story time? After all, I hear this book is really, _really_ good.”

He held the book up so that Eliza could see the cover, and from behind him Connor moved his head slightly, trying without avail to see what the book was for himself. When Eliza let out her own excited gasp however Connor’s interest peaked.

“What? What is it? What’s Uncle Kurt got?”

Kurt was about to say something, but was quickly beaten to the punch by the sound of Eliza’s voice.

“It’s _‘Cosmo The Boat Cat!’”_

_“Cosmo?!”_

Kurt looked back between the two children then, realising that he was caught in the middle of both of their excitement. He glanced at where Sebastian was standing and noticed that he was wearing a look of amusement upon his face, crossing his arms across his chest as he leant back slightly. When Kurt felt a light tug on his arm he turned back to the children, listening to Eliza and Connor both begging to be read to.

“Okay, okay. Settle down and I’ll read it to you,” He said, letting out the laughter he had been holding in before. Kurt opened the book, and both Eliza and Connor calmed down, waiting to listen to the story that they had probably heard a hundred times over by now.

Kurt turned the page, noticing the colourful artwork that graced the page. He quickly glanced back to the twins, making sure that they were alright, before finally beginning to slowly read.

 _“‘Cosmo the Cat_ always _wore a tuxedo with a red tie...’”_

* * *

As Kurt started to read to the twins, Sebastian found himself trying not to laugh himself to begin with. If it wasn’t for the children’s apparent enthusiasm over hearing the story, he would have probably believed that Rachel and Finn had left the book out as a joke. A cat that wore a tuxedo and a tie -- for starters Kurt worked, lived and breathed in the world of fashion, and it was of no surprise to anyone that knew him that he loved animals. No, not loved. _Adored_ them.

Sebastian had every intention to hang around in the bedroom for a little while whilst Kurt read. After all, he had jumped at the opportunity to suggest that Kurt could read to Eliza and Connor in the first place, knowing that it was something that he could tease Kurt about later on if he so wanted. But yet even with those intentions, added with the provided comedy of what the first lines of the story read where, Sebastian found himself unprepared for the emotions that he was to suddenly be hit with.

The further Kurt continued to read, Sebastian remained where he stood slightly to the side of Connor’s bed, leaning against a small child's chest of drawers. It was like he was watching in on a scene playing before him, the setting in which Kurt played a loving parent, with two attentive, although still very sleepy children hanging off his every word as he read to them. It was the way in which Kurt’s voice would often change here and there, the pitch altering slightly to fit with what Kurt was saying, knowing just what tone to use when speaking as a different character just as the children had previously been so excited about. It was the way that those two children had both settled down deeper under their blankets, letting out a little laugh at the moments in the story that were appropriate to do so, or asking questions that they probably already knew the answer to already after having heard the story told to them so often.

But most importantly, what struck with Sebastian was just how simple everything felt in that moment. How natural it was to him to be watching it unfold. The more he watched Kurt with his nephew and niece the more Sebastian felt a rush of both comfort and affection wash over himself, realising to himself that his lips had curled up into a small, warm smile due to what he was witnessing.

He wanted this for himself, and he realised that now.

Before, Sebastian had been a little hesitant to let himself admit to how much he wanted a family, instead deciding to focus his worries on fears like that of how he felt he perhaps wouldn’t be ‘good father’ material. Those worries still remained deep within him somewhat, but they weren’t as potent nor did they seem as important as they had before. Now, Sebastian was certain, without any feeling of doubt, that he wanted a slice of what Finn and Rachel had found for himself. And he was even more certain that he wanted to share that with no one else but Kurt. He knew there was no need to rush for anything to happen, and that him and Kurt both still had work to do until they were in the best position to move forward in such a way, yet just admitting to himself that adopting a child was no longer a possibility but instead a certainty for his future was enough of a step forward for him to feel proud at discovering.

Eventually, as Kurt continued to read, Sebastian silently moved out of the room, leaving his husband with the twins as he himself moved to sit back on the sofa in the living room so that he could think by himself for a while. If he had to be honest, he had been slightly terrified about babysitting that evening, and Sebastian knew that Kurt had probably read the nerves that were radiating off of him. It had been the uncertainty of the entire situation, of not knowing what to expect from something he didn’t have that much experience nor knowledge about that had worried him. Sebastian wanted so much to proove to himself that this was something that he could do, and with Kurt by his side they had both succeeded in that. In one way it was overwhelming to know that facing the things that had been a major concern for them both had such an impact on how he felt now, yet in another it was a huge relief, knowing that some of those worries at the back of his mind had perhaps been simply fabricated out of his own imagination.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Sebastian soon felt a hand on his shoulder, and he jumped a little before turning around. When he caught sight of Kurt’s face standing over him wearing a smile he let out a small breath that he hadn’t realised he had been holding in, before looking away again to shake his head, letting out a small breathless laugh as he did so.

“You scared the life out of me.”

“Sorry,” Kurt replied, his tone relaxed. The hand on Sebastian’s shoulder disappeared, yet before Sebastian could even look at Kurt again for the reason why he felt the sofa beside him dip. Kurt shuffled back into his seat slightly, making himself more comfortable, and once he had he soon began to talk again. “The kids ended up falling asleep in the end. I knew they were more tired than they let on. Well, Connor at least. Eliza seemed half asleep before even being put into bed.” 

Sebastian let out another little laugh at that, hearing Kurt pause for a moment before joining in with him. His attention moved from where he had been looking down at his hands, eyes gazing over Kurt and watching him, his own smile returning as the memories of how he had felt earlier in the children's room flooded his thoughts once more.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Sebastian said, giving a shrug as he leant back into the sofa. “The whole babysitting thing. It’s kind of easier than I thought. I mean, I expected at least one temper tantrum.”

“Oh no. Please don’t say that,” Kurt chuckled, his voice slightly hushed as he nudged Sebastian with his shoulder slightly. “We still have to wait until Finn and Rachel finally come home, so there’s still the chance that one or both of them could wake up and cause trouble.”

“Kurt you _just said_ yourself that both of them were more or less lost to the world of slumber.” 

“They’re kids, anything could happen.” Kurt leaned against Sebastian then, his head resting on his arm. Sebastian knew that Kurt wasn’t really concerned about the children waking up again having been used to Kurt’s nature by now to tell when he was teasing him. Not to mention how relaxed and comfortable Kurt was making himself was a huge giveaway to the fact that he had few worries. A peaceful silence fell between them for a short moment, until eventually Sebastian spoke up once more. 

“So what time are your brother and Rachel coming home then?” He asked, shifting his arm and pulling it free from beneath Kurt, choosing to instead wrap it around Kurt’s shoulders and bringing him in closer to his side. 

“Not until late,” Kurt replied, letting out a small sigh with his words. “Finn surprised here with some tickets to see a show, and they were on their way to the theatre when Rachel called to check in earlier.”

“Ah. So now we’ve become house sitters too. I get it.”

“Oh, shush you,” Kurt said, playfully hitting Sebastian slightly as he laughed once more. Sebastian couldn’t help but smile in response, noticing how Kurt was moving back into his side.

“Did you really find it better than you thought?” Kurt asked suddenly, causing Sebastian to turn his head and look at him for a moment. He realised that Kurt was referring back to their earlier conversation, that he was picking it back up once more.

“Well, yeah,” Sebastian replied. “I mean, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. And we didn’t need to call Finn and Rachel and scare them with any horror stories, so we must have been doing _something_ right for the past few hours.”

“Rachel and Finn are really the only ones that can a judge to that, not us” Kurt teased. He paused, before tilting his head up and meeting Sebastian’s gaze. “Really though, I’m glad that you didn’t find it as terrible as you were imagining. I have to admit, I was a little concerned before we came here.”

“Concerned?” Sebastian asked, a small little frown appearing upon his brow.

“Yeah,” Kurt said, resting his head into Sebastian's side again as a small smile graced his lips. “But now I know that I really had no reason to be. Not after seeing how easily you kept Connor entertained with his blocks.”

“That _was_ pretty enjoyable,” Sebastian grinned. He honestly really had enjoyed playing with Connor, and then Eliza too when she had calmed down enough to join them. Sebastian found it strangely entertaining in a way watching how excitable the two young children could be over building various things out of little toy blocks, especially with the ideas they had shared with him and Kurt of things they wanted to work together and build. Even if they didn't build everything the children suggested (some ideas would have required _a lot_ more blocks, after all), Sebastian was certain that he could say they all had fun with the things that they had built together.

“So …” Kurt began, moving slightly so that he could look at Sebastian better once more. Sebastian could feel the way that the mood seemed to shift ever so slightly in the room around him, and all he could do as he met Kurt's somewhat serious and hopeful expression was wait to hear what it was that Kurt wanted to ask him, expecting that he already knew somewhat what the question would be.

“What does this mean -- for us?”

For a moment, Sebastian didn’t reply. Instead he just watched Kurt, noticing the way in which he was looking back at him and waiting almost anxiously for Sebastian’s response, his eyes still shining with the hopefulness that had been present there before. With the arm that wasn’t already wrapped around Kurt Sebastian reached over towards his husband, brushing his hand against where a stray piece of hair had fallen out of the grip of Kurt's otherwise perfectly styled hair, continuing to watch him intently as he did so.

“I think,” Sebastian began, before pausing. He swallowed, adam's apple bobbing slightly noticeably in his throat, before he finally continued to push forward with what it was that he had to say. “I think … that we should, start thinking about the direction of where we want to take our own future a little bit more seriously.”

At Sebastian’s words Kurt’s expression seemed to brighten, lighting up as all the anxiety that was present there before was replaced with happiness. A happiness that was so contagious, Sebastian couldn’t fight the smile that had started to tug at his own lips once more, not when he was watching Kurt’s whole posture morph with his growing excitement.

“Really?” He asked, as if making sure that Sebastian hadn’t kidding somehow.

“Really,” Sebastian confirmed, nodding. “Although -- we still agree not to rush head first into anything. As good as the babysitting thing has gone so far tonight, I think we could probably do with a bit more experience here and there.”

“Deal,” Kurt replied, letting out a small little laugh with his words as he did so.

It was that smile, the one that had Kurt’s eyes crinkling at the corners, Sebastian’s favourite of all his husbands smiles, that proved to Sebastian that they were both on the right page. That what he had said had been the right thing to say, not just for himself but also for Kurt to hear. It showed that however slow it was, the two of them were making some sort of progress.

“And while we’re agreeing to these deals --” Sebastian began, his own smile growing larger as he continued to watch Kurt. “How about we agree that when we are ready to adopt, we only adopt _the one_ kid to start with? No twins.”

“No twins,” Kurt agreed, giving a small little nod himself as he shifted closer to Sebastian once again. “Absolutely no twins. The second child we'll have comes later down the line.”

Instead of responding, Sebastian simply moved forward, pressing a slow kiss against his husband's lips. There was nothing more to be said, at least not at that moment in time. All that was important was the here and the now, and the thoughts of the future they would one day share growing more and more clearer with each step they took towards it.

Sebastian knew they would need to continue to research into the plan of adoption, and that there would probably be more long nights of babysitting for Rachel and Finn ahead of them. But the difference was that now it was a plan, and not just an idea. Sebastian knew, with certainty, that the time would come where he and Kurt would be looking at agencies, worrying over potential interview processes, and nightmares worth of paperwork and struggles waiting for them. Yet he also knew, with certainty, that they would eventually find the future that they wanted for themselves. The future that included decorating a nursery, shopping for baby clothes and supplies together, and one day, _finally_ bringing home a small, new member of their family.

And the truth of it all was, that was a future that he could only ever see himself living with Kurt by his side, the both of them along for the ride.

Together.


End file.
